1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for transferring data within a computer system and, more specifically, to a system and method which allows for the implementation of peripheral device bus mastering via a general purpose list processor.
2. Background of the Invention
Bus mastering (i.e., the ability of input/output (I/O) devices to take over transactions on their own behalf) is becoming an important strategy in personal computer (PC) systems as the burden on central processing unit (CPU) bandwidth increases. Each reduction in time required by the CPU to control peripheral devices and their data flow results in an increase in available CPU bandwidth that includes operating system overhead for application interfaces and interrupt handling. This means that not only is unattended data transfers to these peripheral devices important, but so is unattended transaction initiation and completion processing. The time savings is especially enhanced when multiple transactions are handled without CPU intervention.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a system and method for implementing peripheral device bus mastering. The system and method must allow for unattended data transfers between the computer system and its peripheral devices. The system and method must also be able to initiate and complete the processing of the unattended transaction. Furthermore, the system and method must be able to handle multiple transactions without CPU intervention thereby further enhancing the time savings of the CPU.